March Update: Bitcoin's Performance, DeFi Opportunities, and ZK Tech Breakthroughs
Will Bitcoin chop sideways in March, or make the next big break upwards? Technical Analysis.
Despite Bitcoin dropping slightly this week, I think 2023 so far has been a pretty good year for digital currencies.
Allegedly Bitcoin dropped because of the Silvergate bank going bankrupt and being removed as an onramp from multiple exchanges. This is the only thing they are correlating to the Bitcoin drop, though it doesn’t affect Bitcoin fundamentally at all.
Here’s a great thread from one of my mentors @Crypto_Birb on why 2023 will be a great year from Bitcoin, and hopefully the rest of digital assets to follow through. I’d recommend opening it up on Twitter. More on Bitcoin at the TA section at the bottom.
Now, back to the fundamentals in longer term investing.
If you’re wondering what the Venture Capitalists are investing in during this time, take a listen to my discussion with Ken from Mechanism Capital this week. They started their fund during the DeFi summer of 2019 and have done very well. We discuss DeFi and GameFi investments in 2023 and what they look for in companies to receive the best returns. They are super bullish on a GameFi game which I have mentioned multiple times in my previous newsletters. I am glad Ken and I are on the same page. Listen to our conversation and don’t miss the launch of that game platform. It could bring millions of new entrants into Web3.
Privacy and ZK tech could be as big as Blockchain:
I’ve been a big fan of privacy solutions as enterprises and institutions that enter Web3 look for ways to shield their transactions from competitors, and privacy advocates use the technology just to maintain privacy of their personal information.
I continue to watch projects like Panther Protocol ($ZKP) which is on the market and below its private sale price, but made a huge gain when the ZK narrative came back into light last month. I’m also watching Partisia Blockchain ($MPC) which has launched their mainnet but the MPC token is not yet listed on centralized exchanges.
However, there will be many more ZK (Zero-Knowledge) projects that launch and become unicorns in the near future, so it’s a major narrative to watch.
This week I spoke with a new ZK platform being incubated called Toposware. CEO Theo Gauthier was well-versed on ZK technology and its use cases in internet finance.
Theo even proclaimed that ZK will be as big and revolutionary as blockchain itself. That’s a huge statement to make. Toposware is still in its early stages, with their incentivized testnet aimed at launching in Q2 of 2023. I’m going to follow Toposware until then and will keep it on my radar.
I highly suggest watching my interview below with Theo Gauthier to get up to speed on why ZK is so important, and catch the launch of Toposware before it goes wild.
Subscribe to my newsletter if you haven’t yet and I’ll ensure we all stay informed for the Toposware incentivized testnet announcement:
Ferrum Network also released V1 of their whitepaper. This takes them one step closer to their mainnet launch and the adoption of multichain cross-asset decentralized swaps. Being able to move between Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana and other blockchains without the use of a third party custodian means trading will actually be decentralized. Take a read of their whitepaper and prepare for the next steps in decentralized trading: Ferrum Network Whitepaper V1.
On the DeFi side, not a lot has “revolutionized” DeFi since Curve Finance and Aave came out years ago, though DeFi continues to expand into multiple blockchain ecosystems. I’ve been following the Minterest DeFi platform since 2021 as they spent most of the 2022 bear market re-evaluating and fine-tuning the mechanisms to create a DeFi ecosystem that drives value to all participants within the protocol.
Well, they have figured it out and have now started their private launch, where NFT holders have access to start lending and borrowing assets. In the first few days they’ve accumulated $4M in TVL (Total Value Locked) from only the early adopters. From what I understand the APY’s are quite high in the private launch, which lasts for around 4 weeks before the mainnet launch to the public. It’s possible to get involved in the private launch if you grab an early adopter NFT from Opensea, and their private launch dashboard can be found here.
I’d recommend watching my interview with Minterest CEO Josh Rogers to understand the mechanisms Minterest put in place to ensure their protocol drives value in the long term, and to follow along for their upcoming launch and listing of their token.
Technical Analysis:
BTC on the Daily:
Bitcoin printed a sell signal recently on the small drop, apparently from the Silvergate crisis (which doesn’t affect Bitcoin directly). However, it’s still showing a higher high than the previous drop. As well, if you look at the last sell signal (from around mid February) you can see Bitcoin barely moved and then printed another Buy signal within 5 days. This could very likely happen again.
After this recent Bitcoin drop, there has been almost no volatility, with Bitcoin moving within a $50 range afterwards, which I believe to be another positive sign. Likely the next big move for Bitcoin will be upwards. However, if we break below the lows of mid February, I would consider re-evaluating the upward direction of Bitcoin.
BTC on the weekly:
Bitcoin on the weekly chart still shows a Buy signal, and while Bitcoin is expected to chop within the grey bar throughout part of March, I think eventually it will break out of it. As long as BTC stays above the orange moving average line, it should remain in an upward trend.
BTC on the Monthly:
With the Monthly candle closed in February as a very tight pinbar, it could show signs of a choppy more sideways March. While the month closed above the orange bar area being a positive sign, the fact that February started and closed at around the same price is not a super bullish sign for the near future.
Other Crypto News:
A federal court judge ruled that emojis including rocket, chart, money bag (🚀, 💰, 📈) objectively mean "one thing: a financial return on investment." Users of these emojis are hereby warned of the legal consequence of their use. Is this taking it too far?
SEC subpoenas Robinhood $HOOD over cryptocurrency listings.
Coinbase suspended Binances stablecoin BUSD for use on their platform. There is a continued crackdown on stablecoins as potentially CBDC’s roll nearer.
That’s all for this newsletter. Let’s keep an eye on Bitcoin for that breakout, and that means an upward momentum for Ethereum, blue chip projects, and more microcap coins.
Ashton Addison
-CEO, Crypto Coin Show
March Update: Bitcoin's Performance, DeFi Opportunities, and ZK Tech Breakthroughs
Good stuff!
So we should stop using emojis on Twitter then? :P